Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac says his 36-year-old goal-machine Sunil Chhetri plays and scores like a 25-year-old, evidence of which was his stunning twin strike in a joint 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifier here. With his twin strikes, the captain led from the front to power India to a 2-0 win over Bangladesh on Monday night, the latest effort helping him surpass Argentina's global superstar Lionel Messi to become the second-highest active international goal-scorer with 74 strikes. "Many people keep on asking as to when Sunil is going to retire. He works so hard on the pitch, and in every training session, he is by far the best," Stimac said after the match.

"He is in such good shape and is working with such professionalism. He is working as if he is 25, playing as if he is 25, and scoring goals like he is 25," Stimac, a key member of the Croatin "Many people were asking last year or so, 'when is Sunil going to retire?' (If Chhetri retires) what are we going to do then? By far, in every training, he is our best player," Stimac said.